This disclosure relates to a system and method for brake pedal feel control.
In non-hybrid electric vehicles, a brake pedal is connected to a hydraulic pressure booster. The booster provides resistance to a user's braking force, which is experienced by the user as “pedal feel.”
In hybrid electric vehicles, the brake pedal is ordinarily not connected to a booster. In order to simulate brake pedal feel, one known brake pedal assembly includes a roller bearing that follows a cam surface. The contour of the cam surface dictates the level of resistance felt by the user during braking.
In another known brake pedal assembly for a hybrid electric vehicle, such as that described in U.S. 2002/0108463 to Shaw et al., a brake pedal is connected to a piston assembly including a magneto-rheological fluid. The viscosity of the magneto-rheological fluid is selectively adjustable in response to changes in a magnetic field. As the magnetic field changes, the viscosity of the magneto-rheological fluid changes, which results in changes in pedal resistance felt by the user.